Editorial: Disappointing finish in 'Race to the Top'

Wednesday

Mar 31, 2010 at 12:01 AMMar 31, 2010 at 12:25 AM

In the Race to the Top for educational innovation, Massachusetts came in 13th. For a state used to being ranked first when it comes to public education, the Obama administration's rejection is curious, surprising and humbling.

In the Race to the Top for educational innovation, Massachusetts came in 13th. For a state used to being ranked first when it comes to public education, the Obama administration's rejection is curious, surprising and humbling.

The Race to the Top is an incentive program run by Obama's secretary of education, Arne Duncan, which sets aside $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds to support innovative educational programs. To qualify, states must demonstrate a commitment to reform, measured by such things as openness to charter schools, aggressiveness in turning around failing schools and intensity of teacher evaluation.

As a carrot, the program worked. States across the nation passed reform legislation, with 41 of them applying for the funding. The prospect of up to $250 million in federal school funds inspired the Massachusetts Legislature to move on Gov. Deval Patrick's education agenda. That plan, focused largely on closing the achievement gap holding back poor and minority students, raised the cap on charter schools and provided new tools for state intervention in failing schools.

Those moves were good, but the bar Obama set was higher. Federal officials judging the competition noted that the charter cap had been raised only in the state's lowest-performing districts, not statewide. Teachers unions still have too much voice in fixing failing schools, the feds said, and just one-fourth of Bay State teachers were evaluated last year.

There were two winners in the first round: Delaware, which will receive $100 million, and Tennessee, which will get $500 million. Federal officials noted that recent reforms in those states will affect 100 percent of students, while the new Massachusetts law will only touch 70 percent of Bay State students.

Some parts of the federal critique seem a little unfair. Massachusetts students already lead the nation in standardized test scores, so it shouldn't have points deducted for concentrating its energies on students, schools and districts that are lagging. Federal scorekeepers also questioned Massachusetts' commitment to national academic standards, an administration priority, even though the hesitation among state officials is that the proposed national standards are lower than the state standards already in place.

All is not lost. There is still $4.2 billion in the Race to the Top prize pool, and Massachusetts is among 16 finalists going into the second round of funding. State officials are fine-tuning their application, which is due in June, with grants to be awarded this fall.

The Race to the Top has proven to be an effective carrot for helping state legislators overcome resistance to education reform. But Duncan's list of favorite reforms is not sacrosanct, nor do they constitute a complete blueprint for education. By all means, let's go for the money, but Massachusetts must continue to be a leader in education reform, not blindly follow Washington's dictates.

The MetroWest Daily News

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